Redistricting rumors

March 19, 2011|By Kimball Payne | Shad Plank

Redistricting rumors are flying out of Washington this week, with word that Virginia's 11-member of House of Representatives delegation has come up with a compromise designed to preserve the current balance of eight Republicans and three Democrats.

According to early reports, the districts would largely be pulled north, with Rep. Scott Rigell, R-Virginia Beach, taking on more Peninsula voters currently represented by Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Westmoreland. Wittman's district, which runs from Newport News north past Fredericksburg, would grow along the northern edge.

Rigell's district already stretches into Fox Hill, which means he could take Republican sections of York County and Poquoson.

Local voters have a chance to offer ideas on redistricting on Monday during at a 7 p.m. meeting at Norfolk State University.

Kaine in?

Student journalists at the University of Richmond are standing by their story: The paper on March 15 said Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine told a class at U of R that he would run for the U.S. Senate in 2012.

Or is it, as the Democratic National Committee later said, that a Kaine candidacy is "increasingly likely?"

Kaine, the Democratic National Committee chairman, has been mulling the move for over a month since Sen. Jim Webb announced he wouldn't seek re-election. Without an obvious successor, Webb's announcement triggered the usual round of speculating that Richmond and Washington love to do.

Kaine has played a close hand. He resisted the urge to make an official announcement at the Jefferson Jackson Dinner in Richmond, a major Democratic fundraiser and pep rally.

But if the student newspaper account is accurate, the normally careful Kaine let the cat out of the bag, fumbling an announcement to the class.

Here's what the paper said:

"Though Kaine said he would not officially announce the decision for a week or so, he said he was going to "give it a shot," after consulting with a variety of different advisers, including current and former senators, according to one of his students.

Kaine told his class that he was planning a trip to China and would discuss some details when he returned to class after a couple of weeks.

But you can tell from the tone that it's not much of a guessing game anymore.

The Woodhouse statement not only includes the phrase "increasingly likely," but also says that Kaine has end-of-the month responsibilities with the DNC, which basically hints at the timing of the whole game.

"However, no final decision will be made or announced until the governor has had a final round of consultations with folks about how he can best serve the President, the people and the causes he cares about," Woodhouse said.

There's not much suspense left about Kaine's intentions, which probably means any formal announcement will not draw the hype it might have otherwise.

So wait for Kaine to call a press conference in Richmond in the next two weeks and hope that the speculation hasn't all seeped out of the balloon.

Veto request

Five groups representing education and local governments want Gov. Bob McDonnell to veto legislation that would require at least 150 minutes of physical education per week in public schools, from kindergarten though the eighth grade.

Nothing against push-ups mind you, but the groups say the new requirement would necessitate hiring extra teachers, a cost borne by local governments.

It would also require more expenses for bricks and mortar.

Schools "were simply not built with this provision in mind," the letter states.

It will also play havoc with unflinching state standards that require an instructional day of 330 minutes. Three-quarters of that time must be spent on core academic subjects, and teachers also must have 30 minutes every day of "unencumbered planning time."

Signing the letter were the Virginia Association of Counties, the Virginia Municipal League, the Virginia School Boards Association, the Virginia Association of School Superintendents and the Virginia Education Association.